


Bucky and Nora Drabbles

by Rissalena



Series: Bucky and Nora [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Bucky Barnes, Soft Bucky, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, slightly jealous bucky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2020-09-23 11:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20339194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rissalena/pseuds/Rissalena
Summary: Drabbles Featuring Bucky Barnes and my OC, Nora Dugan. Their full story is the first work in this series.





	1. Are you sick?

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "I'm not going to get sick, just let me hold you."
> 
> Bucky's been gone on a mission for a few days, comes home to a sick girlfriend.

Bucky’s mission hadn’t been a particularly difficult one. He was just gathering intel on a group of mercenaries so the fighting had been minimal. But it had taken longer than expected, so by the time he got back to the Avengers tower after five days away, he was anxious to see Nora. They’d never been apart for that long before. He stowed his gear as quickly as he could and immediately headed for her lab, his hands already itching to hold her. 

The elevator doors opened and he stepped out, eyes searching the room for Nora. He didn’t see her anywhere, so he hesitantly stepped over to one of the glass partitions and knocked on it gently to get the attention of one of her lab assistants. 

“Hey,” he said as the woman looked up. “I’m sorry to bother you, I was just looking for Nora.”

“She’s not here,” the woman said. “She emailed us this morning to say she wouldn’t be in today.”

“Thanks,” Bucky replied, his brow furrowing in concern. Nora was really dedicated to her work, it took a lot to keep her out of her lab on a scheduled work day. His concern grew as he rode the elevator, his brain suddenly on overdrive as it concocted worse and worse scenarios about what might be wrong. 

He finally reached her floor and bolted out of the elevator, checking to make sure no one was around and sprinting down the hall. He stopped at her door and knocked. There was no response. He knocked again, this time waiting only a second before entering in the key code she’d given him after their first night together. 

“Nora?” he called quietly as he stepped into the apartment. Everything looked normal, which helped calm his panic a little, but there was still no sign of her. Stepping as lightly as he could in combat boots, he tiptoed through the apartment until he reached the living room, letting out a huge sigh of relief when he saw Nora asleep on the couch. He knelt down next to her, his good hand reaching up to gently cup her face. Her cheek felt like it was on fire, and he moved his hand up to feel her forehead. She was burning up. 

His touch was enough to draw her from sleep, and she slowly opened her eyes as he brushed his thumb gently across her cheek. 

“Bucky?” she said weakly, trying to sit up. He put his hand on her shoulder to gently push her back down. 

“Hey,” he said softly. “I’m home. Are you sick?”

“I just have a little cold,” she said unconvincingly. Bucky looked at her skeptically.

“You have a fever, sweetheart. It’s definitely the flu.” 

She scrunched her face up and shook her head slightly. “I don’t have time to have the flu.”

He chuckled. “I don’t think having the flu is something you can schedule. Come on, why don’t you get in bed.” He reached for her but she put a hand up to stop him. 

“I don’t want to get you sick.” 

He raised an eyebrow at her. “You know I have a superhuman immune system, right?”

She looked a little sheepish and he slipped his arms under her, cradling her against him and standing up. 

“I’m not going to get sick, just let me hold you,” he said as he tilted his head down to press a soft kiss to her forehead.

She relaxed into his arms, nodding and burrowing her head into his shoulder. He carried her to her bedroom, laying her down and bringing the blanket up over her shoulders to tuck around her. He straightened back up, and she assumed he was getting ready to head back to his own apartment. She desperately wanted to ask him to stay, but was still unaccustomed to having someone in her life she could make those requests of. He saw it in her face and sat down, bringing a hand down to rub her back soothingly.

“I’m not leaving. I’m just going to change, and then make you some chicken soup. Have you taken any medicine?”

“No,” she said, the tension immediately melting out of her as she realized he was staying to take care of her. “You have some pajamas in the top drawer.”

“I know.” He leaned down to give her another kiss on the forehead before standing and grabbing a tee shirt and pair of sweatpants from his designated drawer in her dresser. He changed quickly and headed down the hall to the kitchen, rummaging through her first aid cabinet for something that might make her feel better. He found some flu medicine, poured her a glass of water, and brought it back into the bedroom for her. She was on the verge of sleep, but he knew she’d be better off taking the medicine before falling asleep, so he put a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

“Nora,” he said, rubbing his hand down her arm. “I have some medicine for you.”

She grumbled at him, but opened her eyes as he slipped his arm under her back to help her sit up. She took the medicine, and put the glass back down on her nightstand. He still had his arm around her, so she leaned into him. 

“Thank you,” she whispered. She’d never had someone take care of her before, at least not since she was a kid, and she was surprised to find that the comfort of his solid presence, his arms around her, made everything seem so much better. 

He didn’t say anything, he just nuzzled his face into her hair for a moment, before gently leaning her back down onto her pillow. He stood, and she shivered at the loss of body heat. Her muscles began tensing back up at his absence, her fever-addled brain a little too foggy to figure out how to ask him to lie down with her. She curled into herself as she felt another chill, and then relaxed again when she felt the bed dip behind her, Bucky looping a strong arm around her waist and pulling her into his chest. Her breath left her in a sigh and the tension flowed back out of her as she settled against him. 

“I’m here,” he whispered behind her. “Don’t worry. Just go to sleep, ok, love? I’ll take care of you.”

She nodded sleepily, nestling further into his arms. She felt safe and taken care of, and fell asleep easily under Bucky’s protection.


	2. Maybe You Can Remind Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #7 for @icedwolf-01:   
"I'm not jealous! It's just ... you're mine"

Nora found it a little intimidating using the gym in the Avengers tower. It was the Avengers tower, after all, so it usually meant someone in much better physical condition than herself would be using the gym also. But she sucked it up and opened the door, smiling when she saw Sam and Bucky in there lifting weights. Bucky was currently on his back, bench pressing god knows how much weight, so he wasn’t able to immediately stand to greet her. Sam, on the other hand, had no qualms about walking away from his position as Bucky’s spotter to greet the doctor.

“Doc,” he said, a flirtatious twinkle in his eye as he reached for her hand, bringing it up to kiss the back of it in the way he knew Bucky hated. He heard the sound of a weight bar being slammed into its holder behind him and grinned to himself. Within seconds there was a metal hand on his arm, pulling him away from Nora.

“It’s your turn on the weights,” Bucky said flatly as he took Nora’s hand in his own, an air of smugness falling over him as he watched Sam remove half the weights from the bar he’d been bench pressing.

Nora just rolled her eyes, giving Bucky a quick kiss on the cheek and heading over to the treadmill.

The next hour was an exercise in one-upmanship the likes of which Nora had never seen. Sam couldn’t come close to matching Bucky physically, so he resorted to shamelessly flirting with Nora at every opportunity. She did her best to ignore them both, instead focusing on her own workout.

“Alright, boys,” she said eventually. “I’m not an Avenger, so I think my workout is done.”

She grabbed her water bottle and towel and hopped off the treadmill.

“What’s the matter, Doc, not enjoying the show?” Sam said, flexing his bicep noticeably more than necessary as he lifted a dumbbell.

She laughed, and Sam winked at her, and Bucky hit his limit. He dropped the weights he’d been lifting and strided toward Nora, hovering possessively over her as he glared at Sam.

“I think I’m done, too,” he said. Nora sighed and took his hand, dragging him behind her as she left the gym and headed back to her apartment. Bucky was silent the entire elevator ride, face carefully neutral and arms crossed over his chest. They reached Nora’s apartment and she unlocked the door, Bucky stalking into the room as his hands clenched into fists.

Nora followed him, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards her.

“Bucky,” Nora said, a hint of humor in her voice. “Are you jealous?”

Bucky snorted and turned away, but Nora followed him, grinning, not letting him get away that easy.

“You are, you’re actually jealous.”

“I’m not jealous!” He said, spinning around to face her. They stared at each other for a moment, then his shoulders sagged. “It’s just … you’re mine.”

Seeing him look so despondent, Nora decided this wasn’t the time for humor. She wrapped her arms around him and stood up on her toes to press a soft kiss to his neck.

“Of course I’m yours, Bucky,” she said. He put his arms around her waist, but continued to pout, so she kissed him again, this time fully on the lips, and his arms tightened around her.

He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead down to touch hers.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t mean to be possessive. I just … does he have to flirt with you so much?”

She laughed, and gave him a quick peck on the nose. “You know he does it just to get under your skin. Besides, he’s like that with everyone. He even flirts with Steve. Hell, he flirts with you!”

Bucky looked at her incredulously. “He doesn’t flirt with me.”

Nora laughed. “He does, just in a different way. He flirts with me because he knows it annoys you, which is really him flirting with you.”

“Well, I don’t like it,” Bucky scowled.

“You don’t like him flirting with me, or with you?”

“You. I don’t care who flirts with me. I’m taken.” He continued to pout, but she could see him softening.

“So am I,” she said as one hand slid up his neck to tangle in his hair, knowing what that usually did to him. It had the desired effect, and he suddenly turned boneless in her arms, leaning his head down to press his lips against hers. She pulled back to look at him, turning serious for a moment.

“I _am_ yours. Completely. You know that, right?”

He hugged her tightly and she felt him nod.

“I know,” he said. Without warning, he picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder to carry her into the bedroom. She squeaked in surprise, giggling when he dropped her onto her bed.

“But maybe you can remind me.”


	3. I Promise I'm Not Going Anywhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #12 for @icedwolf-01:   
"Can you just kiss me?"

Bucky bolted awake, gasping for breath and disoriented in the unfamiliar room. He felt movement next to him, and remembered he was in Nora’s bedroom, in her apartment, in Stark Tower. A wave of anxiety washed over him as he realized he’d woken her up. It was only their second night sharing a bed, and while she’d been there for his nightmares in the past, that was before they’d become whatever they were now. He was suddenly afraid that it would remind her of just how damaged he was. 

He hung his head as she sat up and scooted closer to him, the soft touch of her hand on his back drawing some of the tension out of him. 

“Did you have a nightmare?” she asked, and he nodded, still unable to look at her. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He sighed, and lifted his eyes to hers. He’d been expecting to see pity, or uncertainty, but all he saw was the same trust and love he always saw when she looked at him. He relaxed a little, and shook his head. She brought her hand up to run her fingers through his hair, the rest of the tension melting out of him as he closed his eyes and let her comfort him. He opened them again after a moment, and saw the question in her eyes. She wanted to give him what he needed, she just didn’t know what that was. 

“Can you just kiss me?” he asked quietly. She smiled at him, realizing that what he needed was reassurance of her love, and slid her hand out of his hair to cup his cheek. She leaned forward, bringing her lips to his in a gentle kiss, and he wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her close to him. She broke the kiss and tilted his head down to press her lips softly to his forehead, and he sighed. 

“I love you,” she whispered.

He tightened his arms around her and laid them back down. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and he pressed his face into her neck. 

“I’m here,” she said quietly as she held him. “I promise I’m not going anywhere.”

He let out a shaky breath and nodded, not knowing how she’d understood his fear, but so grateful that she had. 

“Go to sleep,” she murmured. “I’ve got you.”

He felt her hand rubbing gently up and down his back, the feeling soothing him. Eventually it lulled him to sleep, and he spent the night wrapped tight in her arms, his nightmare nothing but a distant memory.


	4. Fancy Meeting You Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: "Can you please come and get me", and "I would break his thumbs right now if I could"
> 
> Protective Bucky. 
> 
> This one kind of got away from me. There was a similar chapter in my original version of "Winters End", but I ended up not including it in the re-write. These prompts called for it to be re-written as part of the new story of Bucky and Nora.

Nora didn’t date much. Or, at all, really. She’d been in a relationship in college that had ended badly, and had dated a bit in her 20’s, but as she got older, it hadn’t really been a priority. She wasn’t necessarily opposed to it, she was just picky. 

How she now found herself sitting in a bar waiting on a blind date was a little beyond her. One of her lab assistants had mentioned the previous week that her brother had a friend who’d recently moved to the city. She said he liked smart, independent women, and had pointedly looked at Nora as she said it. Nora had, grudgingly, agreed to go out with him. The fact that she was desperately trying to prove to herself that she wasn’t developing feelings for Bucky certainly had nothing to do with it. 

So now she sat, at a table, in a bar near her apartment, a picture on her cell phone. She looked up as the door opened and recognized the man walking through the door as the man in the picture her lab assistant had sent her. She stood up and waved him over. 

“Nora?” he said as he made his way over to her table. 

She smiled at him, and nodded. “You must be Jason.” 

They shook hands and sat down, an unease settling over Nora. She had good instincts when it came to people; Nick had been willing to trust Bucky on Nora’s word alone, he trusted her instincts so much. And her instincts were screaming that Jason was bad news.

They sat in silence for a moment as Nora tried to pinpoint what it was about him that she disliked. He was attractive; not her type, but attractive. He was moderately tall, with short blond hair, dressed in a polo shirt and jeans. She was kind of surprised he’d wanted to be set up on a blind date, he seemed the type that would have no trouble meeting women on his own. As she pondered, the silence became awkward, and Jason cleared his throat. 

“Why don’t I go get us some drinks?” he suggested, standing. Nora nodded, and tried to push down the tinge of irritation she felt when he didn’t ask her what she wanted, just made his way to the bar. He returned a few minutes later with a beer for himself and a glass of wine for Nora. Nora didn’t really drink wine, so she held the glass in her hand while they chatted, occasionally taking the smallest of sips. 

“Do you like the wine?” Jason said after a bit, noticing she’d barely touched it. “It’s the most expensive one they have. No expense spared, you know?” He sat back a little smugly, and Nora forced herself to take a bigger sip. 

“It’s good,” she said, trying to be diplomatic. “I’m trying to savor it,” she added with a smile.

They continued their conversation, Nora continuing to take small sips of wine, and eventually noticed she was beginning to feel lightheaded. She certainly hadn’t had enough to drink for the wine to be getting to her, and a feeling of dread started to creep up as she realized what the much more likely cause was. She put the wine glass down and stood. 

“I’m just going to run to the ladies room,” she said, putting her hand on the table to steady herself. 

“Ok,” Jason said, his face carefully neutral, but Nora thought she saw a glint of triumph in his eyes as she wobbled. 

She carefully made her way to the bathroom, the room starting to spin ever so slightly around her. She locked herself in a stall and pulled out her cell phone, tamping down the panic that swelled as the numbers on the screen swam in front of her. She managed to get a number dialed, and said a silent prayer that he’d be there.

“Hello?” came the familiar voice after the first ring, and Nora breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“Bucky?” she said, her voice weak. 

“Nora? Are you ok? I thought you had a date tonight.”

“I did. I do. I’m on it. I don’t... “ she paused, trying to pull herself together. “I think he put something in my drink.” 

“Where are you?” Bucky said, an undercurrent of barely concealed rage evident in his voice.

“I’m at that bar on the corner of my street, halfway between my apartment and yours. Can you please come and get me?” She didn’t try to hide the quiver in her voice. It was Bucky; he was probably the only person in the world she trusted enough to let see her fear, and she was scared. 

“Are you safe right now?” he asked, and she could hear he was already out the door and on the street. 

“I’m in the bathroom.”

“Ok, stay exactly where you are, I’m almost there. Don’t hang up, ok? Keep talking to me.” His voice sounded funny, and it took her a moment to realize it was because he was running. 

“Ok,” she said, but not knowing what to say. 

“What does this guy look like?”

“He has blond hair, and is wearing a red polo shirt.”

“Yeah, he looks like an asshole,” Bucky said, and she nearly cried in relief when she realized that meant he was there. 

“I’m here,” he said over the phone. “I’m right outside the bathroom door, just come out to me, ok?”

“Ok,” she said, hanging up the phone and opening the stall door. She used the wall to steady herself, grateful at least that her dislike of wine was probably the only reason she was still on her feet. She opened the door and practically collapsed into Bucky, his arms going around her immediately to steady her. 

“Hey,” she said as she leaned against him. “Fancy meeting you here.”

That surprised a laugh out of him, and he smiled down at her, tightening his arm around her as they both looked up to see Jason approaching. 

The smile dropped off Bucky’s face, replaced with the ice cold expression that had been his trademark as the Winter Soldier. 

“Hey, man, thanks for catching her,” Jason said as he reached for Nora. “She must have had too much to drink, I can take care of her from here.”

Bucky practically growled, shifting so he was firmly planted between Nora and Jason, his right arm still around her holding her tightly. 

“I don’t think so,” he said, his metal hand clenching and his arm humming as the metal plates repositioned themselves. 

Nora placed her hand over his clenched fist. “Bucky, just take me home, please.”

The blood had drained from Jason’s face when he realized what was happening, and he quickly stepped out of the way. Bucky glanced down at Nora, softening as he saw the pleading look in her eyes to just get her out of there, and nodded. 

“Alright,” he said, shifting her to his other side so his metal arm could hold her up more easily. Without another word he guided her out of the bar and onto the street, a pale and shaking Jason frozen to the spot behind them.

They walked slowly, Nora leaning on Bucky to keep herself steady, his arm firmly clasped around her waist. Once they reached her building, she pulled her keys out of her pocket and fumbled with them, too dizzy to find the right one. Bucky reached down to gently pull the keys from her hand, finding the right one and unlocking the building door. Dropping the keys into his pocket, he slid his left arm up her back and his right arm under her legs, picking her up in one easy, sweeping motion and carrying her into the building. 

“You don’t have to carry me, Bucky,” she said. “We have to walk up to the fifth floor.”

“Exactly,” he replied. “I don’t think you’re going to make it up four flights of stairs.” She started to protest again, but he stopped her. “Nora, please. Just … just let me carry you, ok?”

She nodded, a little surprised that he seemed to want to take care of her, but grateful. She leaned her head on his shoulder as he made his way to the stairs, and had to force herself to keep her eyes open as he easily carried her up the four flights to her apartment. 

They reached her door and he set her feet down, his metal arm still wrapped tightly around her as he reached into his pocket to pull out her keys and unlock the door. He put the keys back in his pocket as the door swung open, not pausing as he swept his arm under Nora’s legs again, carrying her inside and using his foot to close the door behind them. 

He brought her into her bedroom and gently sat her down on the bed, kneeling in front of her to take her shoes off. She watched, her head swimming as he dropped her shoes to the floor. 

“Do … do you want to change?” he asked, a blush creeping up his neck. “I can close my eyes.”

She nodded, and gestured towards her dresser. “Can you get my pajamas? They’re in the top drawer.”

He opened the drawer and pulled out a pair of pajama pants and matching t shirt. He helped her stand up and then closed his eyes as she clumsily changed, losing her balance a few times and grabbing onto Bucky to steady herself. He lifted his arms up for her to hold onto, his eyes still firmly clamped shut. 

“I’m sorry,” she said after she’d finally managed to get her pajamas on. “You can open your eyes now.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said as his eyes opened and he shifted to wrap his arms around her more firmly. “You have absolutely no reason to apologize.” He was quiet for a moment. “I very much wanted to hurt that guy. I would break his thumbs right now if I could.”

Nora leaned into Bucky, not sure what the appropriate response was, so she settled for just hugging him. 

“I’m glad you called me,” he said, stroking her hair with his right hand.

“Thank you for coming to get me.” Her face was pressed against his chest, so her voice was muffled, her words ever so slightly slurred, but she used the last bits of her strength to cling to him tightly. 

He continued to stroke her hair. “You can always call me, you know that, right?” She nodded, and sagged against him, letting him hold her up completely. He held her for a moment, then gently guided her back down to her bed, pulling the blanket up to cover her and kneeling beside her. 

“Can I sleep on your couch?” he asked, brushing her hair out of her face.

She smiled to herself. He was asking permission to stay and take care of her, and it made her heart flutter. She nodded, and he brought his hand down to rub her arm. 

“I’ll be right in the next room if you need anything, ok?”

“Ok,” she said, no longer able to keep her eyes open. “Maybe you can just sit with me until I fall asleep?” She hadn’t meant to ask that. The words had just slipped out of their own accord, but she couldn’t take them back now.

“Of course,” he said, and she thought she felt soft lips press to her forehead. She couldn’t make her eyes open to see if that was the case, but his hand was still on her arm, rubbing it gently, and she decided to just let sleep take her. Maybe she would dream about a metal arm holding her tight and kisses pressed to her lips instead of her forehead.


	5. Some Time Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #4: You have thirty seconds to explain to me what you're doing here.
> 
> ANGST! And fluff. I'm incapable of not having fluff.

“I just think it’s better if maybe we took some time apart,” Bucky said, refusing to look her in the eye. 

It was like someone had punched her in the stomach. She was just starting to get used to the idea of having a partner, someone she could depend on, and here he was, reminding her why she’d stopped relying on people in the first place.

“ _ Some time _ apart? Or just apart?”

He continued to stare at the floor, his silence all the answer she was going to get. She wanted to cry, to beg him not to do this, but that had never been her way. Instead, she put on the mask that she’d long since stopped wearing in front of him, forcing herself to be the calm, collected person the rest of the world knew her to be. 

“Fine,” she said coolly as she walked to the door, opening it and gesturing for him to leave. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

He finally looked up at her, pain in his eyes, and for a moment she thought he was going to take it all back. But then he put his own mask back on, the cold expression of the Winter Soldier, and walked out the door. She slammed it behind him, sliding down the door to collapse in a heap of sobs on the floor. 

In the hallway, Bucky did the same thing. He heard her crying through the door, his head pressed against it as tears streamed down his face. 

_ It’s for the best _ , he told himself, and forced himself to his feet, down the hall, and out of her life. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next week was tense. As much as Stark Tower was a huge building, it was inevitable that they’d run into each other. They avoided the common areas as much as possible, but given Tony’s penchant for impromptu, mandatory get-togethers, they couldn’t avoid each other. So by the second week, Nora had made a decision. 

Tony, of course, begged her to stay. She couldn’t explain to him why she had to leave, she never shared that much about her personal life, but she suspected he knew. She’d asked him not to tell anyone else she was leaving, and by the third week she’d managed to quietly pack her entire life into a U-haul with no one the wiser. She stuck around for another day, a small part of her hoping that Bucky would come around, but he didn’t. So she left. 

Tony had kept his word, hadn’t told anyone she was leaving, so it wasn’t until the next day, when Bucky knocked on her door, ready to lay his whole heart out to her, that he discovered she was gone. 

“She’s gone,” he said, barging into Tony’s lab with no preamble.

Tony looked up from the suit he’d been repairing with a look of feigned ignorance. “Who’s gone?”

“Nora. She’s gone. Her apartment is empty, her lab is locked, she’s just gone.” There was a tinge of panic to his voice.

Tony sighed, and Bucky saw it in his face. “You knew.”

“She told me last week she was leaving,” he said. “I didn’t know when she planned to go.”

“Where. Is. She?” Bucky said through gritted teeth.

“I don’t know. She didn’t tell me. But if I’ve read the situation correctly here, Bucky boy,  _ you _ broke up with  _ her _ .”

Bucky didn’t respond, he just turned and walked out of the lab in search of Steve. He was going to find her.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A month later, Nora was settling in to her new life in Boston. She’d just started a new job in one of the research departments at Mass General, and was getting by. She liked to believe she was doing well, but “getting by” was a much more accurate description. She found that, as long as she kept busy, she could avoid thinking about Bucky, and that was the best she could hope for. She had no social life to speak of, though there was nothing new about that, so when her new coworkers told her about their monthly karaoke night, they practically had to drag her to the bar with them. 

She hadn’t meant to get so drunk, she usually tried to be more careful about those kinds of things. But they just kept ordering shots, and she didn’t have the mental energy to argue. Before she knew it, she was up in front of everyone, microphone in hand, singing her broken heart out. 

From the corner of the bar, Bucky watched. It had taken him a month, but he’d finally managed to track her down. A blip of a mention on the Mass General website about a new researcher had popped up in one of his daily web searches, and he immediately left New York for Boston. He arrived late afternoon, deciding to just wait for her outside her office. He hadn’t expected to see her leaving with coworkers, and it occurred to him at that moment that maybe she’d moved on. He didn’t know what else to do, so he followed the group as they made their way a few blocks to a nearby bar. He was aware of how easily his actions could be misconstrued as creepy, but he didn’t care. He needed to know that she was ok. If she was happy without him, he’d leave. But as he watched her down shot after shot with the determination of someone hell bent on getting drunk enough to forget about their problems, it became clear to him that she was not ok. By the time midnight rolled around she could barely stand, and he followed the group out as they left the bar. 

“Are you sure you don’t want a ride?” one of the women in the group was asking Nora as they all drunkenly climbed into the waiting cab.

“I live soooo close,” Nora slurred, and the rest of the group said their goodbyes to her as the car drove off. Nora turned, swaying as she did, before steadying herself and setting off for her apartment. Bucky decided he would just follow, make sure she got home safe, and then try again tomorrow. His plan was derailed when, halfway home, Nora plopped herself down on a bus stop bench, tilted her head back, and closed her eyes. He couldn’t leave her like that, so he gathered his courage and approached her. 

She didn’t open her eyes as he knelt in front of her, and his guilt surged as he thought about what might have happened to her if he hadn’t been there. It was his fault she was in this state, how could he have done this to her?

“Nora,” he said quietly, putting one hand on her cheek and tilting her head up. “You can’t sleep here.”

She opened her eyes, but Bucky could see she wasn’t really awake. 

“Let’s go to your apartment, ok?” He slipped his arm around her waist, bringing her to her feet as he stood. 

“Ok," she said, leaning against him. She wasn’t really aware of what was happening, but her subconscious was awake enough to know that this was someone she trusted, so she didn’t question it, she just let him lead her the remaining two blocks to her apartment. 

He fished her keys out of her purse and unlocked the building door, keeping his arm around her as he closed it behind them. 

“Why is everything spinning?” she asked, stopping to place a hand against the wall in at attempt to keep steady. Bucky didn’t say anything, he just gently lifted her into his arms and headed for the elevator. He’d expected her to protest, like she had every other time he’d ever picked her up like this, but she didn’t. She slipped her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. 

"Home," she whispered, her hand creeping up his neck to tangle in his hair like she always did when they were close. His heart wrenched, and he nodded. 

"Yeah, sweetheart. Home."

She woke the next morning in total confusion. The last thing she remembered with any clarity was singing karaoke in front of her coworkers, and the memory of it made her want to die of embarrassment. She couldn’t even remember how she’d gotten home, but the bottle of water on her nightstand seemed to indicate she’d at least been with it enough to remember to drink some water before going to bed. She tried to remember the previous night, but all she kept coming back to was the dream she’d had about Bucky. Most of it was a blur, but she remembered him kissing her forehead and telling her he’d be right there if she needed him. It made her want to cry. She stood and crossed to her closet, searching around on the upper shelf until her fingers landed on the familiar fabric of the shirt she was looking for. It had long since stopped smelling like Bucky, but knowing that it was his was enough for her. She slipped it on and dragged herself into the bathroom. She hoped brushing her teeth and washing her face would help wake her up, but she knew what she really needed was coffee.

Heading for the kitchen, she was barely aware of her surroundings as she opened the cupboard. She heard a noise behind her and spun around, stopping dead when she saw Bucky standing in the doorway. She stood there frozen for a moment, and then burst into tears, turning back around quickly so he wouldn’t see. She covered her face with her hands, the tears coming harder the more she tried to stop them. She felt hands on her shoulders, turning her around and pulling her hands away from her face. She kept her head down, fighting to bring her hands back up to hide the tears, but then she felt strong arms wrap around her, pulling her into him, and she gave up. She wrapped her arms around his waist, buried her face into his chest, and sobbed. He didn’t say anything, he just held her, occasionally pressing gentle kisses to the top of her head. 

Eventually her sobs quieted and she pulled away from him, extracting herself from his arms completely and stepping back to regard him coldly. 

“You’ve got thirty seconds to explain to me what you’re doing here.”

He took a step towards her, stopping when she immediately retreated, and he sighed. 

“I came to bring you home.”

“This _is_ my home. Why are you in it?”

He hung his head. “I …” he trailed off, unsure of how to begin. “Can we sit?”

She stared at him for a moment before finally nodding, leading him into the living room and sitting on the couch. He sat beside her.

“I was wrong,” he said quietly, and she just looked at him flatly. “I thought I was protecting you.”

“Protecting me? From who? Hydra? They’re gone, Buck, that’s a lame excuse.”

“No, not from Hydra. From me. I’m … broken. I …” He took a deep breath. “I’d had a nightmare, worse than usual. I woke up, and for a minute I didn’t know who I was. Or who you were. And that scared the shit out of me. What if I had hurt you? I tried to shake it, but I couldn’t. Every time I looked at you, all I could think was ‘what if I hurt her’? Eventually I realized you’d be safer away from me.”

“Bucky, it’s not like that’s the first time that’s happened. Remember back when you first came to SHIELD, on the helicarrier? I woke you up from a nightmare, and you didn’t recognize me. You barely knew me then, but it still only took a second for you to realize it was me. And everything was fine. You didn’t hurt me then, you wouldn’t hurt me now.” She was trying not to sound accusatory, but she was afraid he was just making excuses.

“I know. And it took a few weeks, but I finally came to my senses and realized that I was wrong. I went to your apartment to beg you to take me back, but you were gone.” He tentatively reached for her hand, relaxing a little when she let him twine his fingers through hers. “It took me a month to find you, you covered your tracks really well.”

She could feel tears starting to sting her eyes again and she lowered her head as she tried to blink them away. 

He brought his other hand up to her cheek, tilting her face back up to look at him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, a tremble in his voice. “Please come home.”

She pulled her hand out of his. “I know that this hard for you. After everything you’ve been through, I know that it’s not easy for you to trust; yourself or someone else. But it’s hard for me, too. I’ve been alone for most of my life. I didn’t let people in, and I didn’t get hurt. And then you came along and suddenly I wasn’t alone anymore. And I got used to that, I got used to having someone there, someone I trusted, and that was a big deal for me.” A tear slipped down her cheek and she hastily brushed it away. “And then you changed your mind. So now I’m alone again, and maybe it’s just easier that way, you know? Maybe I’m just not meant to be loved.”

“You are loved, Nora, more than I can possibly make you understand. You’re … god, Nora, there aren’t even words for the way I feel about you. I didn’t think I believed in love until I met you. Even before … everything, I thought love was just some vague notion that people talk about but never really feel. And then, after Hydra took me, the idea of loving, of being loved, became so foreign to me that I actively resented the concept. And then I met you. I still remember the first moment I realized I might have been wrong about love. I’d just woken up in your med bay, a room full of agents clearly scared of me, and I was getting ready for a fight. Everything in me was screaming to run, and then you put your hand on my shoulder and suddenly everything was different. In that moment, I remember thinking,  _ I could love her _ . I don’t know where the thought came from, I’d all but forgotten love even existed, but your hand on my shoulder, the look in your eyes, woke something up in me. I didn’t realize how truly and completely my heart belonged to you until Hydra took us. I found you in that room and realized that I was willing to do whatever it took to protect you. I would have gladly gone back to their torture, become their weapon again, if it meant keeping you safe. There is  _ nothing _ I wouldn’t do for you. Leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I did it because I thought it was best for you. I love you so much I was willing to break my own heart to keep you safe.”

“But you broke my heart, too.”

“I thought you’d get over it. I didn’t … I didn’t think you needed me the way I need you.”

She felt tears start to run down her cheeks again and she closed her eyes as Bucky’s hand reached up to brush them away. She leaned into his touch and he moved closer to her, his other arm going around her waist as his thumb brushed over her cheek. 

“I’m sorry, Nora. I don’t know how to make this right but I’m so sorry.”   
  


“Just hold me for a little while,” she said, climbing into his lap. He held her close to him, not knowing if he was forgiven or not, but willing to give her whatever she needed either way. She stayed in his arms, reminding herself how it felt to not be alone. Bucky didn’t say anything for a long time, but eventually, as if he could hear her thoughts, he whispered to her. 

“I can’t promise I won’t get scared ever again, but I promise I won’t ever let it come between us again. If we’re partners, then we’re partners. If I get scared, we’ll deal with it together. We’re _supposed_ to be together.”

She pulled her head off his shoulder, her hand going up to cup his cheek. “Thank you,” she said. “That's what I needed to hear.” 

He leaned forward to capture her lips in a kiss, a sigh escaping her as his arms tightened around her. He dragged his hand down her back, and then suddenly pulled away from her, his brow furrowed. 

“Is this my shirt?” he asked in mild confusion. Nora chuckled, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she nodded. 

“I’ve been looking everywhere for this!”

“You left it in my apartment. I thought about giving it back to you, but I … I just needed to keep a part of you, you know?”

He nodded, reaching into the collar of his shirt and pulling out a long necklace chain. Hanging from the end was her favorite ring, the one she’d thought she’d lost months ago. It brought a fresh wave of tears to her eyes and he pulled her back into his chest, kissing the top of her head. 

“I couldn’t let you go,” he whispered, and she just nodded as she pressed herself closer to him. 

“I love you,” she said through tears. 

“I love you, too.”


	6. After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place immediately after the end of my full fic, Winter's End Redux (like, immediately. I think there's actually some overlap; the last lines of the fic are the first lines of this drabble)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've definitely lost the drive to write about these two, I'm hoping new Bucky content will kickstart it again.
> 
> But in the meantime, I found this kicking around my drafts folder a while back, so I thought I'd add it in honor of the trailer that was just released.

He wrapped his arms tight around her, placing a kiss to the top of her head. “Doesn’t matter, you’re mine now.”

“I’ve always been yours.” She slid off his chest to lie on the bed next to him, grabbing his left arm to spoon her as she rolled on to her side. 

“Do you know how many nights I laid awake wishing your arm was wrapped around me like this?” she asked, eyes closing as she snuggled against him. 

He was quiet, and she felt him tensing up behind her, so she turned to face him. He removed his arm the moment she let go of his hand, and she felt a knot form in her stomach as she realized he might not want her to share his bed. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, “I shouldn’t have assumed. Do you want me to go?”

His eyes went wide. “No! God no, of course I don’t want you to go! It’s just … wouldn’t you rather sleep on my other side? So I can hold you with … with my right arm?”

Her heart sank a little as she realized what he meant, and she sat up, pulling him up with her and giving him a quick kiss. 

“I will if you prefer that, but Bucky, this arm,” she said, taking his left hand in hers, “is no different to me than this arm,” she finished as she took his right hand as well. “I told you I love all of you and I meant it.”

He lowered his eyes, but squeezed her hands in response. 

“Is it because it’s not your real arm, or because Hydra gave it to you?”

He looked up at her, surprised at how she’d managed to cut exactly to the core of his anxiety. 

He shook his head. “I don’t know. Both, maybe?” She rubbed her thumbs across his hands, giving both the same attention, and he looked down to where her soft, gentle, flesh hand held his metal one. “You don’t look at my arm and just see a weapon?”

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “A weapon? Of course not. At least, no more so than your other arm.” She let go of his right hand and wrapped both her hands around his metal one. “Bucky, this arm has saved my life, held me while I cried, carried me when I couldn’t walk … opened jars for me when the lid was screwed on too tight.” He chuckled, and she smiled at him. “I love this arm just as much as I love every other part of you. And just like with this arm,” she touched his right hand, “when I feel it wrap around me, I know I’m safe. Protected. Loved.” He pulled his hands out of hers, his arms going around her to pull her into his chest. 

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Just like that.”

“I love you,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

“I love you, too. Now cuddle me,” she said in mock seriousness, pulling him with her as she lay back down.

He slipped his left arm around her, pulling her close to him and kissing the back of her head. “Yes, ma’am.”


End file.
